Wanda Resmer says she didn’t see the news coming.
For over two weeks, people in Quadeville, Ont., a tiny community surrounded by the hills of Renfrew County, were cautioned by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to keep their kids close — indoors, even — after an eight-year-old girl was found with serious injuries near the town’s main drag on June 24.
OPP said they suspected an animal attack.
Then, earlier this week, they charged a 17-year-old boy with attempted murder and sexual assault. Test results obtained on Wednesday revealed no animal DNA on the girl, police said.
It was a devastating double whammy that Resmer says left her heartbroken.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say this,” the longtime Quadeville resident said inside the community centre on Thursday, “[but] maybe I do wish it was an animal.”
The accused, who can’t be named because of his age, is due back in court at a later date. It’s unclear if he, too, is a member of the community.
The girl was taken to CHEO, the children’s hospital in Ottawa. CBC News is not identifying her in order to protect her privacy.
Resmer and her husband Junior know the girl and her family. Quadeville, which is part of the larger township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan, is home to only about 300 people.
“My heart dropped,” Junior said of learning about the teen’s charges.
He said his priority now is helping the girl’s family as she continues to recover in hospital. The community held a bake sale on Thursday, and a dinner on Saturday raised over $6,000.
“I’m proud of that,” Junior said. “That’s good for a small community.”
Wanda Resmer described Quadeville as a quiet little town where everybody knows everybody. She was preparing bingo cards for this Friday’s weekly game when CBC spoke to her Thursday.
Residents were scared and worried during the two weeks leading to the charges, she said.
“We didn’t know what was going on. There was a lot of questions.”
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson told Ottawa Morning on Thursday that residents probably no longer have to keep their children indoors.
Another Quadeville resident, Beccie Snider, said she was relieved police made an arrest, but added the news is sad.
“I knew it wasn’t an animal,” she said.
Dickson said the safety warning issued on June 24 was one of the toughest he’s ever had to deal with.
“We didn’t want to cause excess panic, but yet we didn’t want to underplay the potential that there could be a risk to someone else out there,” he said.
The OPP is holding a town hall on Saturday afternoon.
